Recreating a Game Scene with Large Number of Assets in Blender, Substance 3D Painter & ZBrush

Introduction

Hello, my name is Kaizoe. My journey into 3D art began around 2020, driven by a fascination with anime and game content. Inspired by the desire to create fan art of my own, I began studying Blender independently. As someone with no prior experience in digital creation, I relied heavily on online tutorial videos, particularly those by Blender Guru, as my first step into the world of 3D.

Through these resources, I learned the fundamentals of 3D production and became proficient in tools such as Blender and Substance 3D Painter. I am deeply grateful to the creators of those tutorials, whose guidance helped me grow at that early stage.

I am currently employed at a game company, where I am responsible for designing and creating background assets for large-scale titles. I feel very fortunate that my passion for Blender has led me to a career in the industry.

About The Project

This room is a 3D fan art recreation of a background illustration from the game Blue Archive. I was captivated by the game's distinctive worldbuilding and compelling characters. Among them, the "Game Development Club" room stood out, and I chose to reinterpret and recreate it in 3D.

I believe background art plays a vital role in conveying the world and character narratives visually.

Scattered game consoles and controllers, stacks of papers pushed to the corners, and walls covered in sticky notes — each asset serves to express the story of who inhabits the space and how they live within it.

Crafting environments that evoke a sense of narrative is one of the most enjoyable and important aspects of background production for me.

Before starting production, I spent several hours on research. Using PureRef, I organized various materials such as official background illustrations, promotional videos, and animations that featured glimpses of the room. Due to the limited reference material available in the original game, I supplemented unseen parts of the room with my own interpretations.

I then collected reference images for each asset, selecting real-world furniture and devices with similar shapes and aesthetics to enhance the scene's realism.

Composition & Modeling

To closely match the original illustration, I began by placing temporary boxes to determine the layout and adjust the camera settings.

Starting with simple white blocks, I built a rough composition while fine-tuning the layout, lighting, and scale to establish the overall direction. Once the foundation was set, I proceeded with modeling the individual assets.

A key focus during this process was allocating appropriate levels of detail where it would have the most visual impact. Given the large number of assets, I prioritized efficiency, keeping minor elements lightweight while maintaining a cohesive overall density. It's easy to get carried away with over-modeling in 3D work, but I've found it important to set practical limits and avoid unnecessary complexity.

Retopology & UV Workflow

For polygon reduction, I primarily used Blender's Decimate modifier. It allowed me to optimize geometry without breaking UVs, while still offering enough flexibility for further adjustments.

More complex shapes and delicate corrections were manually refined in ZBrush.

For UV unwrapping, I relied on the UV-Packer add-on for Blender. This tool significantly streamlined my workflow by enabling automatic arrangement and handling of more intricate UV setups than Blender's default capabilities allow.

The main software used in this project included:

• Blender (modeling, layout, UV, rendering)
• Substance 3D Painter (texture painting and adjustments)
• ZBrush (detail sculpting, retopology)

Texturing

My texturing process did not follow a particularly specialized workflow. I referenced real-world materials to inform my decisions and aimed to maintain fidelity to the atmosphere of the original artwork.

In my view, reflections are a crucial element in achieving realism in 3D environments. To that end, I deliberately applied slightly exaggerated glossiness — what one might call "controlled fakery" — to increase the visual impact of surfaces.

Any textures that felt unnatural when viewed in the scene were adjusted and refined as needed. Most texture work was carried out in Substance 3D Painter, with finer adjustments handled in Blender using node-based setups for efficiency.

Visual Directing & Details

To guide the viewer's eye toward the television, I arranged the outlines of major assets such as shelves, the sofa, and whiteboards to form a natural compositional flow. I also applied a subtle blur to the light entering through the windows, enhancing the contrast around the TV to make it stand out visually.

To add a layer of realism, I included smaller items, such as sticky notes and debris on the floor. However, simply adding objects can easily clutter a scene. I paid particular attention to the silhouettes and color balance of each asset, ensuring they contributed to the atmosphere without overwhelming the composition.

Lighting

Given the bright, open atmosphere of Blue Archive, I began the lighting process by defining the color and mood of the sky. I used Blender’s Sky Texture node, which offers greater control than HDRI environments, particularly for adjusting sunlight strength and the character of the sky.

The balance between sharp, direct sunlight and soft ambient light was especially important. For this piece, I set the lighting to mimic late-morning conditions under a clear sky, aiming to create an impression that was both realistic and visually uplifting.

Reflections on the Process

The total production time was approximately two months. I worked on it in small increments — typically one to three hours a day after work or on weekends.

The biggest challenge was managing the sheer volume of assets. Reaching the quality I aimed for took more time than expected, reinforcing the importance of efficiency in the workflow. While the modeling and texturing processes were relatively straightforward, I intend to explore further optimization methods in future projects.

To those beginning their journey in 3D, I would like to offer this advice:

• Work at your own pace, and keep going.
• Everyone starts with something small and imperfect — like a misshapen white mug.
• Avoid comparing yourself to others. Step by step, at your own rhythm, you will grow, and results will come in time.

I am sincerely grateful to 80 Level and Emma Collins for giving me the opportunity to share my work through this interview.

To everyone who has taken the time to read this far, thank you very much. I hope to continue creating pieces that catch your attention. And when that time comes, I look forward to meeting you again — somewhere, someday.

Kaizoe, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Emma Collins